Do You Feel The Pain?

Why do people feel a different level of pain? Perhaps the brain waves hold the answer. Tim Newman wrote an article exploring this question that was fact-checked by Jasmin Collier.

Everybody feels a different level of pain and it has been demonstrated by a new study by measuring brain activity, that we may be able to predict who will actually be more sensitive to pain. Even if the wound is the same from person to person, they each can differ in the level and type of pain they feel. Pain is definitely a strange phenomenon.

Our pain will most likely hurt more if we expect it to. Pain varies much from the type of accident or medical procedure the patient endures. Scientists from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom worked together with those from the University of Maryland in College Park to look for clues about pain sensitivity that is hidden in brain waves.

Capsaicin paste was introduced to the forearms of 21 participants to predict pain. This is what gives the heat to chilies, and when it is on the skin it induces robust thermal hyperalgesia. This means it feels painful and hot. Their pain was endured for 1 hour. The team then assessed brain activity with an electroencephalogram before and during the exposure. Voltage fluctuations, giving a general picture of brain activity is detected.

They were mostly interested in a type of brain waves called alpha waves that originate in the occipital lobe toward the back of the skull. Results were fascinating and the wave frequency appeared to predict pain sensitivity. Those whose alpha brain wave frequency was slower before the capsaicin was given reported feeling much more pain than those who had a faster frequency of alpha waves before. Co-senior study author Dr. Ali Mazaheri from the University of Birmingham’s Center for Human Brain said they observed an individual’s alpha frequency can be used as a measure of a personal predisposition to the development of pain.

He also believes this has direct relevance to understanding what makes an individual prone to chronic pain after a medical intervention like surgery or chemotherapy. This information could be very useful in the medical community and they could identify which individuals are more likely to develop pain and could take steps early on in formulating treatment for these patients. Their results will help to develop a better understanding of which people might be more susceptible to chronic pain and how pain works in the brain.

Dr Fredda Branyon